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Tim Gunn joins geeky actress Jennifer Ewing and comic book historian Alan Kistler to continue their discussion on the fashion of Star Trek TOS and the films that followed Kirk and his crew. If you like Crazy Sexy Geeks, listen to our podcast on iTunes and donate via PayPal to SizzlerKistler at gmail dot com. (Read more…)
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Perhaps someone more plugged into this particular format war can comment, but, for myself, I’ll just mention the two things that happened over the last week in the world of ebook formats.
First, EPUB 3.0, the next generation of the format used by most electronic reading devices, was officially made a Recommended Specification at the Frankfurt Book Fair by the IDPF.
A few days later, Amazon — which is the sole user of their proprietary, competing format, derived from a format invented by Mobipocket — announced a new generation Kindle format for their devices, without mentioning EPUB or the growing global standard.
There had been chatter that Amazon was going to converge to EPUB — or, at least, allow EPUB files to be read on Kindle devices — sometime late this year or next, but, from this evidence, that does not seem to be coming any time soon.
Pulp Artist Mark Maddox has been named cover illustrator for HorrorHound Magazine issue #31, which is currently available on newsstands and bookstores everywhere. The cover art by Mark Maddox features images from the 1982 version of The Thing.
Mark’s illustrations have appeared on multiple books and magazines including Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective, Captain Hazard, The Heap, That Man Flint, Undying Monsters, Lance Star: Sky Ranger, Little Shoppe of Horrors magazine, Mad Scientist magazine, Hammer Fantasy & Sci-Fi for Hemlock Books, The Last Bus To Bray: The Unfilmed Hammer, the first volumes in Don Glut’s New Adventures Of Frankenstein series, and more.
For more on Mark Maddox and his art, visit http://maddoxplanet.com.
Click on artwork for a larger view.
With the imminent return of The Incredible Hulk to television (currently being developed for ABC and spinning out of the Avengers movie next summer) it’s illuminating to go back and take a look at how the original TV series was made. Allan Cole (perhaps better known as the co-author of the [[[Sten]]]novels) was a writer for the series, and he’s been reminiscing…
To understand The Incredible Hulk you have to first know that everybody on the show was nuts. Some were nice nuts. A few, not so nice. And others bounced back and forth like green balls of silly putty with no notice whatsoever.
It also helps to understand that the very premise of the show was schizoid, with this wimpy little doctor-type guy (played by Bill Bixby) transforming into a big green monster (played by Lou Ferrigno) when somebody kicks sand in his face and pisses him off.
Put another way, scripting for the Incredible Hulk was like writing for Kabuki theater. As Chris said, “one frigging thing out of place and everybody and everything goes apeshit.”
The writing experience could be frustrating, agonizing and drive you just plain bonkers. On the other hand, of the hundred and fifty odd shows Chris and I worked on, it was one of the most fun and satisfying. Once you got the formula down pat, you could write just about anything you wanted. More importantly, what you wrote went on the screen, so you didn’t hesitate to open up and address broader themes than one might expect in a show about a comic book character.
via MY HOLLYWOOD MISADVENTURES: IT AIN’T EASY BEIN’ GREEN – JUST ASK THE INCREDIBLE HULK.
After years of backing up Jack Bauer on 24, Mary Lynn Rajskub is back on the web and funny as hell. She tells us all about her new series, plus Katee Sackoff talks about why she isn’t in the POWERS TV series and why she thinks BATTLESTAR went out the right way.
The Point Radio is on the air right now – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or mobile device– and please check us out on Facebookright here & toss us a “like” or follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.
My time at the New York Comic-Con has come and gone and a good time was had.
As expected, I had countless whirlwind 30-60 second conversations with people, shaking hands, hugging, kissing, and making rather merry. There were some extended conversations and a few business meetings which was nice.
I arrived early enough on Thursday that getting my badge was a breeze and wish more shows were so well staffed. I began running into people I knew the moment I entered the Jacob Javits Center and was delighted. My first appointment was with an editor about a project I can begin talking about next week. We got to know one another beyond the e-mails and phone calls and I think we got along just swell. She then snuck me onto the show floor two and a half hours early so I got a chance to wander and chat with some people who were going to be otherwise mobbed the remainder of the weekend.
Sure enough, once the doors opened to the four-day pass holders and professionals at 4, the aisles quickly filled and moving around was far less fluid. I did make a point of checking booths that had my stuff on display and was pleased to note DelRey had both The Essential Batman Encyclopedia and The Essential Superman Encyclopedia out for the fans. Across the way, Watson-Guptill had Stan Lee’s How to Write Comics out. And just arrived at the TwoMorrows booth were the first copies of Stan Lee’s Universe, where I acted as a consulting editor in the project’s final weeks (and a spiffy looking book it is, too).
We continue our look at DC‘s latest direct-to-DVD animated features, talking with Ben McKenzie star of BATMAN YEAR ONE as well as Andrea Romano and Lauren Montgomery who gives us a few hints on the next release, JUSTICE LEAGUE DOOM. Plus we visit the set of HAPPY ENDINGS, the ABC surprise hit comedy with Eliza Coupe and Damien Wayans Jr.
The Point Radio is on the air right now – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or mobile device– and please check us out on Facebookright here & toss us a “like” or follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.
Well, this is different– and yet, very familiar. Batman: The Killing Joke, written by Alan Moore and drawn by Brian Bolland, has been partially adapted into a Lego version. Voice actor Patrick Girts does an amazing job channeling Mark Hamill’s version of the Joker, and it was animated with Legos by filmmaker Forrest Whaley.
Take a look…
Imagine the Joker has you tied up. You’re in a dimly lit warehouse right off the river. The air is thick, stale, and musky. The tide raps against the nearby docks punishingly. The rope that binds your hands behind your back is chokingly tight. Every twitch in your wrist scrapes twine against raw flesh. Footsteps on concrete floors echo louder and louder as they draw near.
That laugh. It starts out low and menacing. It crescendos a bit. A few “hee-hees” and “ho-hos” tossed in jovially. It crescendos. Cackling, lung emptying chortles screech on your ears. You wince and tense up. Your wrists chafe as skin breaks. You can feel blood reaching the surface of the rope.
“So fanboy, it wasn’t hard to lure you here. The promise of a preview copy of Catwoman 2 was all it took. Well. that and the promise of more side boob. And now? I bet you’re hoping… praying… that the Bat shows up and saves you. Well, pookie? The joke’s on you… he’s too busy reading Voodoo to show up here! HAAAAA HAAA HAA HAA HAAA!”
Question: The voice in your mind just there? The voice of the Joker? Well, if you’re anything like me… the man reading back my poorly written dialogue in your head was Mark Hamill.
Since 1992, Hamill has portrayed perhaps one of the single hardest roles for any actor, be it voice or otherwise, to play. The nemesis of the Dark Knight has been written many ways; from straight-up sadistic murderer to psychotic sycophant. Bruce Timm and Paul Dini created perhaps the single greatest interpretation of the seminal superhero and tasked Andrea Romano with the worst possible task. The interpretations of role had been truly original to say the least. Both Cesar Romaro and Jack Nicholson had portrayed the Clown Prince of Crime and took liberty to imbue the character with their own charm. Romero painted over his mustache and played the campy cackler with scene chewing glee. Jack Nicholson exuded his … Jack Nichosoness. But here, with Batman: The Animated Series, we were getting a truer-to-comic presentation. The Joker in this case could not be so closely tied to the actor portraying him. And the less we say about Larry Storch’s voice acting during the Superfriends/Scooby Doo era the better.
Enter Luke Skywalker.
Mark Hamill had done a handful of voice acting roles prior his turn as the Joker (so says IMDB), but none with as much clout. Certainly any kids as crazy-obsessed as me hit the pause button while watching their tapes of recorded episodes to see the voice cast… and would be baffled to see their beloved Jedi master lending his baritone to The Joker.
Astonishment aside though, Hamill sunk into the role such that I strongly believe no one else will ever top it. His nuanced delivery, that carries everything from the silly to the psychotic, is pitch-perfect. Over the course of the series, the animated Joker was pulled in several directions. One episode he’s dressed as a sea captain, driving a barge of joker-gassed garbage down the Gotham River; the next, he’s holding Commissioner Gordon, Harvey Bullock and Renee Montoya hostage on live TV. And whether he was back handing Harley Quinn, or flying away on a rocket powered Christmas tree, Hamill captured the character like no other.
In watching a little <a href=”
about the characterization, Hamill put it best. The iconic laughter of The Joker had to be right. It’s a tool in and of itself. With every laugh he delivered behind closed doors, Hamill captured the essence. For all his nuance and outright amazing portrayal of the character in The Dark Knight, even Heath Ledger wasn’t able to really use it. Credit to Hamill’s fearless acting. As you’d learn in the clip, he performed it standing up. You can feel the manic energy in every line he spoke. And when the animated series ended, Hamill (and fan favorite Bat-voice Kevin Conroy) brought the role out one last time for the now-causing-mass-sleep-deprivation video game Batman: Arkham City videogame. Sadly, Hamill told the world it’d be his last foray into the fracas… and thus his reign as the ringmaster of insanity came to a close.
Other people have taken on the role, to less effect. The fantastic John DiMagio (of Futurama fame and much, much more), Kevin Michael Richardson, and even now Brent “Data” Spiner have all tried to take the mantle. But none capture that balance of the character. Some of it may come from the writing itself… but as we all know, the best actors can make lemonade from just a packet of Sweet-N-Low and a wedge of lemon. Mark Hamill’s been blessed with fantastic writers, but took the role to such heights that now I fear no one will ever replace him.
And just then, the window above shatters. Shards of glass rain down on the floor around you, reflecting the pale moonlight and streetlamp glow as they ping-ping-ping into pieces. A leathery flap darkens the area where you sit. You can’t see anything, but you hear a desperate plea.
“Wait, Batsy, no! We were just about to read O.M.A.C. #1 together! HAAA HAAA HAAA HEEE HEE HOO HOO HEEEE!”
SUNDAY: JOHN OSTRANDER
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